Closing Time

August 26, 1985

ORLANDO — Nearly half of the 25 remaining Jefferson Ward department stores -- including three in Central Florida -- will close in ''a matter of weeks,'' the company in charge of liquidating the Miami-based chain said. The 11 outlets, which have launched going-out-of-busines s sales, include stores in Orlando, Cocoa and Melbourne. The eight others are in Jacksonville, Fort Pierce, Fort Myers and in Virginia. No decision has been made about the future of the employees at the 11 stores or the fate of the other 14 stores, all of them in Florida. Montgomery Ward has made it clear that it wants to sell the money-losing division. It sold 18 stores in the Northeast earlier this year, and company officials said they plan to sell or close the remaining stores by year's end.